The week brought back the biennial World Championship Cheese Contest, held in Madison, Wis. Bay Blue from Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company won its category, blue veined cheeses with exterior molding, with a top score of 99.55.
A total of 25 countries and 32 U.S. states were represented in the 2024 contest. With an impressive 84 Best of Class finishes, American cheesemakers earned the highest number of gold medals.
This year, 3,302 entries from around the world competed across 142 categories. From March 5-7, a team of 53 internationally renowned dairy experts from 19 nations evaluated cheese, butter and yogurt through visual inspection and sensory evaluation.
“We are thrilled with Bay Blue’s first place award at the World Competition,” said Kuba Hemmerling, VP of operations at Point Reyes Farmstead. “Bay Blue
has long been a favorite of cheese lovers –to still be receiving accolades from this esteemed group of critical judges is just awesome.”
Connie Concon, national sales director said, “Our customers have known for years what a special cheese Bay Blue is, enjoying its beautiful natural rind and fudgy texture along with its delicately balanced flavor of savory and sweet. This cheese deserves every award it receives!”
The World Championship Cheese Contest, initiated in 1957, is the largest technical cheese, butter and yogurt competition in the world. For more information, including complete results for all entry classes, visit WorldChampionCheese.org.
In 1959, Bob and Dean Giacomini established their dairy farm just north of Point Reyes Station in Marin County, Calif. In 2000, together with their daughters, the family began making hand-crafted cheese on the farm with milk from their own herd of Holsteins.
In 2010, now WBENC certified Women-Owned by sisters Diana, Lynn and Jill, they opened The Fork, a culinary and educational center offering farm-to-table educational experiences for both consumers and the trade. In 2018, the company expanded to Petaluma, with the opening of a second creamery, warehouse and distribution center.
The Point Reyes product line consisting of Toma, TomaTruffle, TomaProvence, TomaRashi, Bay Blue, Gouda, Quinta and Original Blue, is available nationally at independent cheese shops and specialty grocers, at the Fork, Bay Area farmers’ markets and online at www.pointreyescheese.com.
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New this year, the Certified in Cheese Scholarship was started by the industry to improve access to American Cheese Society certification exams. This fund gives a cheese professional with certification ambition a boost to reach their goals.
Crowdfunding for and by cheese professionals across the industry has paved the way for one certification seeker to elevate their career in the world of cheese.
The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel and travel, as well as the exam fee for either the ACS CCP exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test.
Applicants must demonstrate a need for outside support in reaching their certification goals, including, but not limited to financial need, and have been accepted to take one of this year’s exams.
Applications are due on April 2.
Scholarships are open to open to cheesemakers, retailers, chefs, students and any other cheese professionals. ACS & ACEF encourages all members of the community to apply for scholarships! While we prioritize first-time attendees and first-time applicants, we thoroughly review every application that comes in and will award scholarships to as many people as we can.
Only one scholarship will be awarded per company, if multiple employees from a single company apply for a scholarship. Any applicants that do not receive a scholarship will receive a discount code for the lowest cost of an American Cheese Society Conference registration.
The Certified in Cheese Scholarship was started by the industry to improve access to the ACS certification exams. This fund gives a cheese professional with certification ambition a boost to reach their goals. Crowdfunding for and by cheese professionals across the industry has paved the way for one certification seeker to elevate their career in the world of cheese. The scholarship will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including conference registration fees, hotel, and travel, as well as the exam fee for either the ACS CCP exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test.
Applicants must demonstrate a need for outside support in reaching their certification goals, including, but not limited to financial need, and have been accepted to take one of this year’s exams.
The American Cheese Education Foundation is continuing The Peterson Company Scholarship for BIPOC Advancement.
This annual scholarship will fund an Individual membership with ACS for the year, attending that year’s ACS Conference, including registration fees, hotel, and travel, and the fee to take that year’s Certified Cheese Professional Exam.
Applicants must identify as a Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color and have been accepted to take that year’s ACS CCP exam.
The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers is open to those who wish to attend the annual American Cheese Society conference.
The scholarship is open to all those employed as a cheesemonger at the time of application and whose employer must not be providing financial support for them to attend the conference.
The Forever Cheese Scholarship for Cheesemongers will cover costs for one person to attend the ACS conference, including registration fees, hotel and travel. It will also cover the cost of the ACS CCP exam or T.A.S.T.E. Test, if applicable.
To apply, applicants should submit a short letter explaining how they are making an impact in the cheese community in the optional field on the ACS & ACEF Scholarship application.
The Comté Association Conference Fund is open to all applicants who have been accepted for the current year’s Certified Cheese Professional exam and seek to attend the American Cheese Society’s annual conference. Applicants must demonstrate financial need. The Fund covers travel expenses to the conference, registration, a one-year ACS Membership, and taking the CCP Exam.
For any questions, email info@cheesociety.org.
For more news of interest to the cheese industry, subscribe to Gourmet News.